Egypt Seeks to Revive Ship Traffic Through the Suez Canal

Just this week, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi ordered officials to devise what he described as a “flexible marketing strategy” to help boost traffic and revenues through Suez Canal in order to offset the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the Egyptian economy.

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The waterway was officially opened in 1869 and is roughly 120 miles long.

While the directive was short on details, it is critical for the nation. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Egypt and other nations have seen key revenue sources like tourism come to an absolute halt.

In addition to tourism, the canal was just updated in 2015 after a completed $8 billion expansion, aimed at slashing waiting times and drawing in more ships.

Last year, the government introduced incentives and fee reductions ranging from 30% to 75% for oil, LNG and LPG tankers, and held prices for all ships at the same level in 2021 as the previous year.

The comments by Egypt’s president suggest that more is needed. The country is currently undergoing a major infrastructure overhaul to better streamline transportation.

Officials are working on multi-billion dollar economic zones lining the canal that will offer a host of manufacturing services, factories and facilities to support the passageway and the surrounding governorates.

In his statement, Sisi said that the new measures should find a balance between maintaining transit through the canal and integrating services to attract more ships.